Chinese Teachers in Hubei Go on Strike Protesting Low Wages

Beijing Times (weibo) report — The day before yesterday, in Hubei province Huanggang city Luotian county, several hundred teachers refused to hold class, and gathered together in county’s Dongmen stadium, demanding higher wages. The Luotian government said that night that they will carry out the relevant policies as soon as possible, and resolve [the issue of the] teachers’ pay.

One teacher from Luotian said, at a little after 10am on the 25th, middle and primary school teachers from Luotian No.2 Middle School, Experimental Middle School, etc. went on strike in succession, one after another gathering in the county’s punblic sports complex where they unfurled banners to demonstrate. Soon afterwards, the entire county and township’s primary and middle school teachers collectively went on strike in support, with a total of five to six hundred teachers involved.

One teacher explained that he began working in 2009 and his wage every month along with performance bonus is only a little more than 1700 yuan, which is not high in Luotian. A few days ago, a teacher claimed that since 2010, Luotian county permanent employees all get 500 yuan in subsidies/allowances per month, that such has already been issued to hospitals and other institutions, but the subsidies for teachers have been embezzled/diverted. The teachers have had nearly twenty thousand yuan deprived, and “this is the cause of the strike”.

Two nights ago, the Luotian county government published a statement on its web portal stating that on the morning after the incident, the county party committee and government arranged the relevant leaders to go to the scene to handle the matter. At 4:30pm that day, all of the assembled teachers returned to their schools, and that school order had returned to normal. The county party committee and government held a special session, and decided to implement the relevant policies as soon as possible to solve the issue of teachers pay.

Yesterday afternoon, a member of the staff from the Luotian Education Bureau office said the teachers assembled because their pay is relatively low compared with that in other industries. Luotian teachers’ salaries are disbursed in accordance with standards, but the “500 yuan monthly subsidy” claim “should not be true”. He indicated that the county party committee, government, and education bureau have already talked with the teachers’ representatives, that “teachers’ pay should be improved, but the specific scope of increase and when it will be implemented has not been determined yet”.

According to a Luotian teacher who participated in the strike, the representatives of the teachers have revealed that pay will be increased. Another teacher disclosed that although many teachers have returned to school, they haven’t actually started classes and the students were thus studying on their own.

[So those working in] the most glorious profession under the sky, must be purify their hearts and limit their desires, endure hardship and live in poverty? Why should they! You all demand teachers to be like candles, burning themselves up to give light to others. Little brothers and sisters, I ask you, do you still remember what candles look like?

网友智商捉鸡 [网易日本网友]：

These teachers aren’t considering the larger picture. Our country is about to rise up to become a big and powerful [prosperous] nation, and they can’t even wait out this bit [be patient]?

网易广东省东莞市网友(14.219.*.*)

First of all, this is a teacher’s strike, not a student’s strike [correcting the difference between 罢教 and 罢课 in the original Chinese report]! The reporter’s word choice is incorrect. Second, in today’s society, there are many ways to express one’s appeals and demands, and there are also a lot of effective methods, but with regards to education, the teachers using a strike to express their demands can be said to be the very worst method. Just what example are these teachers giving their students? Or we can say, are they even fit to be teachers at all? Isn’t it just a small subsidy? To be so extreme for money is really a disgrace to the educated class. A social class that uses its brain doing such a brainless thing. Both foolish and stupid!

1386838296980 [网易湖南省长沙市网友]： (responding to above)

The person above has completely lost his/her conscience. First, the ways to express demands in today’s society are indeed many, but there are basically none that are effective. Second, these teachers made a very good example for their students, their way of fighting for their own interests that they deserve being great, glorious and proper. Third, what may just be a bit of subsidy for some beasts is a large amount of money for the majority of people. All of the world’s problems ultimately boil down to economic problems. In foreign countries, even civil servants and police go on strike for money, and only those who dare to go on strike are real citizens while those who have grievances but dare not go on strike are all slaves.

nie0b375 [网易广东省肇庆市网友]：

At present, the wages for teachers throughout the nation is seriously imbalanced, where some places it is over ten thousand yuan, while other places it is just over a thousand yuan. In many places, the compensation for teachers look about the same as that of civil servants on the surface, but in reality the gap is obvious. In addition, civil servants do not need to buy social insurance, while teachers have to, because the rules and regulations are set by them.

凤凰网黑龙江省网友：凤凰网友

The compensation that should be given to the teachers should be given. The county should not use [that money].

凤凰网河北省保定市网友：zdcx

Teachers these days just love holidays and provide tutoring classes [to get gifts from parents and make extra money from tutoring services]

凤凰网山西省网友：手机用户

The salary is indeed low, but just how long do they have to work? Every year there’s even winter and summer vacations, and just two classes each day. Nowadays the compensation is like that of civil servants, and aren’t teachers throughout the country all the same, yet they are still threatening to go on strike?

凤凰网北京市网友 凤凰小过客:

If you do not believe it, come to Wuxue and investigate, to see just where they used the wages allocated by the national government for teachers. There indeed are teachers who make money by providing extra lessons [tutoring services], but most teachers stay within their role/bounds [do their jobs seriously without looking for ways to fleece parents]. Teachers have to live and raise their families too. Their wages were low to begin with, and then with deductions here and deductions there, what they actually get in their hands after all that is just barely enough for their own survival. Just look at how few boys enroll in teaching schools and become teachers.

凤凰网浙江省网友：wenguow:

Rights and interests should be fought for, but don’t harm all those innocent children. Why not use winter and summer vacation to go to Chang’an Avenue [to protest]? Based on what I know, in many places, if there isn’t a connection, even if you were to give money, you wouldn’t be able to get a job as a teacher, no matter what famous “normal university [teaching university]” you graduated from. Teachers are one of the foundations of human civilization, so don’t be too selfish and all about your self-interest!

凤凰网腾讯微博网友：逆天行道

To improve the quality and level of Chinese teachers, we must break the “iron rice bowl” [stable, lifelong job] of teachers, and realize a system of employment under contract.